An award-winning Canadian children's book author and illustrator delighted Sundre students and staff, along with other members of the community during a guest appearance at the River Valley School Nov. 1.
Barbara Reid walked audiences through her illustration process, read from her Governor General Literary Award-nominated Picture a Tree, answered questions, and signed books during three separate sessions last Thursday.
“I'm thrilled,” said Miranda Rose, a Grade 12 Sundre High School student who after attending the mid-morning session, had Reid sign a book for her.
Rose was accompanied by her mother, who said the first book Reid illustrated, The New Baby Calf, got her daughter interested in reading when she was a child.
Published 25 years ago, The New Baby Calf by Edith Newlin Chase features Reid's unique plasticine-based illustrations.
Since then, the Toronto author and illustrator has had more than 20 books published, one of which is a finalist in the Governor General's Literary Book award competition.
Reid said she fancies herself more of an illustrator than an author.
“It's what I love doing,” she told a packed room at the library.
The self-professed doodler gave the audience an insider's perspective on the amount of work that goes into designing each plasticine-based illustration in her books.
Starting with a drawing, she's able to copy the work onto plasticine and then her husband Ian, a professional photographer, takes a picture of her work.
It takes her about eight months from start to finish to create the plasticine illustrations for each book.
Typically, she said she uses everyday scenes as inspiration for her illustrations from trees and animals to people and buildings. Whenever there's an illustration of a dog in her book, it's usually Ruby, her own pet.
The girl on the front of Picture a Tree is Emma, a girl from Reid's Toronto neighbourhood.
The River Valley visit was the first time Reid said she'd travelled so far west for an author's visit.
Invited by school librarian Jo-Anne Lenz, Reid happened to be in the province for a convention around the same time.
